Keroro, I'm in America? de arimasu!
by Aquaqua
Summary: Keroro came up with an invasion strategy that invoves taking over the United Nations, so they go over to New York to investigate. What they didn't count on, however, were doubles of their friends back home! Chaos ensues as the platoon tries to get home.
1. Chapter 1

December 31, 2005

"Well, Platoon, anyone have any ideas for invasion?" Keroro asked. He and all the others (Except Giroro and Dororo for obvious reasons) couldn't believe they were on Pekopon for almost 2 whole years, and they had not made one smudge of progress!

Everyone shook their heads, as usual. "Oh, come on! Does anyone have any ideas? Anyone at all?"

Still nothing. Suddenly, Mois stood up. "Oji-sama! I have an idea!"

Keroro's eyes gleamed, like the way they did when he's excited. "Yes, Mois-dono?"

She pulled out her cell phone and became her Angolian form. "I could use the Lucifer Spear not to destroy Pekopon, but damage it. Then everyone would be weakened. You could say an easy invasion?"

"Mois-dono...that...is...AMAZING!!!" _This is it!_ he thought. _This is..._

"No way!"

They all turned to see a familiar blue frog. "You will NOT kill all of these beautiful-"

"Oh, Dororo, I didn't know you were here!" Keroro exclaimed.

"You're too mean, Keroro-kun! I've been here for 3 whole hours!" He went into his "trauma switch" pose.

Everyone facepalmed. "Well, meeting dismissed, I guess," Keroro said, his heart sinking with each word. "We'll...discuss it tomorrow."

* * *

Natalia was running out of her room, her carrot-red hair trailing behind her in the pigtails she wore. The 14-year-old was rushing to her brother's room, muttering to herself, "We're so late!"

She went to wake up her "baby brother," Freddie. He had black hair, like their mother, Ari. He was 13, but he was a lot more dependent than other kids his age, mostly because he couldn't walk. He used a wheelchair. He was paralyzed from the waist down when he was a baby in the car crash that took their dad's life.

"Freddie? Fredrick Hanta, wake up! We're going to the Nashua house for the New Year's party in a half hour!"

"Okay, okay." He pulled himself into a sitting position, so he was slumping over the back of his bed. He held his arms out, and Natalia understood. This was their morning routine. She pulled his wheelchair out from its place in the corner of the room and wheeled it to where he could reach it. He picked out a pair of jeans, and a "Homework Kills Trees: Stop the Madness!" sweatshirt to wear, and Natalia walked out of the room. She herself picked out a pair of jeans with a hole in one knee, and a long-sleeved t-shirt that said, "Hollywood or Bust!" on it.

She tugged it on, and adjusted her wig to make sure it was in place. Right before she went out of her room, she had a strange tingle in her stomach, like she expected something exciting to happen that day. She just shrugged it off, and then went downstairs to grab herself a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

"Uuuugh! Gunso-san! It's only 8:00 in the morning, AND it's New Year's Eve!" Tamama whined. Apparently, Keroro had gotten some WONDERFUL idea for invasion, and practically dragged them into the meeting room.  
"Anyway, platoon," Keroro said, ignoring Tamama. "I've got a great idea for invasion."  
"Here it comes..." Giroro said, expecting a terrible failure of a plan, as usual.  
"We'll go to America!"  
"WHAT?" everyone screamed.  
"Why?" Giroro asked.  
"The UN."  
"What?"  
Keroro sighed. "Back right after WWII, the President of the United States started this program called the United Nations. Apparently, it brings countries together, so nothing like World War 2 would ever happen again. INCLUDING Japan."  
"Kukukukukukuku! So if we take over the United Nations..."  
"We'll practically be taking over all of Pekopon!" Keroro finished.  
"Wow...Keroro...I never knew you could have such good ideas..." Giroro said in disbelief.  
"I do not like this, but I will go," Dororo said. What he DIDN'T let on, however, was that it was because he was there to stop everyone once the invasion really started.  
"Okay, then. It's settled. We're going to New York!" Keroro said.

(Later)

Kururu had created five individual teleportation devices in 10 minutes (Not that anyone was surprised...).  
"Well, Platoon, I'll see you on the other side!" Keroro said.  
"Rodger!" everyone exclaimed, saluting. Then the door closed and they were gone.

When Keroro was there, he was in front of the biggest building he ever saw. He looked inside, it had the letters E-M-P-I-R-E S-T-A-T-E B-U-I-L-D-I-N-G in it, but he couldn't understand it. Man, he should have known! Nearly everyone here spoke English! And English was as different to Japanese as much as...well, every language!  
And then, he remembered something. No one was there with him. He was alone, just like before. Until he saw a black-haired boy wheeling towards him in a wheelchair...

***

Freddie was sitting in the car with his mother and sister. Suddenly, he saw something that made him stare. He was supposed to be waiting to get to the mayor's house for their annual New Year's party, and they were supposed to go in front of the Empire State Building to get there.  
Even though he'd been living just a few blocks from there since he was born, he always stared as he passed it. It was incredibly hard to imagine how it would have been possible to build a building over 1000 feet high. He always wondered if there was anything living beyond the clouds, beyond the earth, perhaps. But, this time he got a greater surprise.  
He saw a frog-like creature looking into the glass door of the wonder.  
"Stop the car!" he exclaimed. His mother slammed on the breaks, causing honking and angry yells to come from everywhere behind them.  
He pulled the foldaway parts of his wheelchair from the floor, opened the door and unfolded them. He hopped into the chair, and wheeled toward the frog, ignoring his mother and sister's demands to get back.  
Freddie caught it by surprise. It turned towards him just after he could've done anything. "Gero!" it said, right before he picked it up. "Fuyuki-dono!"


	3. Chapter 3

"What? Fuyuki-dono? What are you doing here? Why are you in a wheelchair?" Keroro asked. The Fuyuki look-alike just stared at him blankly.

Keroro reached up to turn his anti-barrier on, and after much struggling, did so. The boy wheeled to a car, and displayed him to two people who looked remarkibly like Mama and Natsumi. Well, they were a little different. Mama had her hair combed down in a page boy, and Natsumi's hair was a little bit too orange. They both stared at him in shock. "Freddie..." Mama said, and said something in English. Apparantly, the boy's name was Freddie.

And Freddie called Natsumi Natalia, so that was her name he assumed.

He gulped down a lump in his throat, waiting to hear his fate, even if he couldn't understand it.

***

"Freddie...what's that?" Freddie's mother said.

"I don't know. Do you know anything, Natalia?"

Natalia didn't say anything. She was staring blankly at the frog. "Natalia?"

"What? Oh, right! I HAVE NO IDEA!!!"

"Mom, do you still have that leftover rope from that campout?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Natalia looked evilly at the frog. "Oh no. You don't think..."

"What? The garage under Mayor Nishiza's house is heated. We could lock him in. What could go wrong? No one seems to see him now."

"Fine." Freddie figured it was harmless enough, but he still didn't like it.

After much struggling, they managed to tie him up, and (luckily) Ari's car didn't have inside locks. So they could keep him in there as long as he wanted.

When they got there, Natalia saw her two best friends, Stacy and Yi, dancing with boys they've been dying to dance with. Natalia sighed. There was only one boy she'd like to dance with: Michael Saber. He was the smartest...sweetest...cutest boy she'd ever met.

Everything came to a halt to Natalia when she heard a gasp coming from the mayor's daughter, Michiko Nishiza, gasp.

**Okay, I'd like to clear everything up for everyone who's confused.**

**Natalia Hanta is Natsumi Hinata's look-alike.**

**Freddie Hanta is Fuyuki Hinata's look-alike.**

**Ari Hanta is Aki Hinata's look-alike**

**Stacy Shiba is Satsuki Shiwatsu's look-alike**

**Yi Shinto is Yayoi Shimotsuki's look-alike.**

**Michiko Nishiza is Momoka Nishizawa's look-alike.**

**And, finally, Michael Saber is Mutsumi Saburo's look-alike.**

**Okay, read and revew! **


	4. Chapter 4

Tamama was lying in the snow, shivering. Who knew New York could be this so darn cold in winter? He was trying hard not to go to sleep. He heard that the next time someone was starting to freeze to death fell asleep, they would never wake up. But the worst part was, he had to force himself to keep going. Part of him just wanted to close his eyes and take a little nap. A nap that would never end.

He kept repeating to himself, _I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry_, but he was failing miserably. Tears were streaking down across his face, and into the snow, melting a few crystals. Then his anti-barrier started blinking. He only had minutes left until it lost power, and he was discovered. Who cares? part of him said. It would just end the torment that plagues me now.

At that time, he heard a female's gasp, and saw a hooded figure come running toward him. He was too weak to see her properly; she was merely a silhouette to him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, then cooed something in English. She then unwrapped a shawl around her shoulders and wrapped it around him. She picked him up, and started carrying him like he was a baby. Man, if Giroro saw this....No. The thought was too gruesome to think about. Then he blacked out.

***

Michiko saw a black figure in the snow, watching the children play. A first, she just thought it was some kid's black and yellow jacket, but then she saw water running down things that looked suspiciously like eyes. And she heard sobbing and moaning.

Michiko ran closer. At first she didn't know what she was seeing. It looked like a frog, or tadpole thing. It looked freezing. And it was crying. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Poor baby!" she murmured. She took off her shawl, and wrapped it around the thing. She didn't know how old it was, and it didn't matter anyway. She started carrying it like a baby. Then it's eyes closed.

Michiko started running. She didn't know why; just motherly instinct, she guessed. She ran through the other entrance, the one that didn't open to the party room, and she ran to the guest room; the one barely anyone went into except to clean. She put the tadpole under the covers, and said, even though she knew it couldn't hear her, "Rest," and then ran off so her parents, friends and other party guests wouldn't get suspicious. As she was running through the halls, she found herself muttering a silent prayer to that strange tadpole, and that it would make it through the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Giroro was flying out in the freezing cold New York, looking for his platoonmates.

Then he came upon a huge house in there, almost as big as Momoka's house. He looked in a window, and a girl with red hair was walking down a hall. She looked towards him, and she looked absolutely exactly like Natsumi. _What on Keron is Natsumi doing here?_ Giroro thought, and he saw her walk towards a room. He looked into a window to it, and he saw something that creeped him out. She ran her hands down her hair, and believe it or not, her hair turned out to be a wig.

She ran her hand down her bald scalp and muttered something under her breath. Then she looked over at him!

Natalia pulled off her wig, and massaged her head. "This darn wig," she muttered. "I hate it."

She looked over and saw yet another frog in the window, floating on something.

This one was red, with a scull on its head and a belt strapped across it's shoulders.

"Not another one!" she groaned. "I already have that stupid green one in the car!" It didn't seem to acknowledge her, though.

She yanked her wig back on, and got a random extra-long string out of her pocket. She walked towards him, and what happened next was not pretty. Let's just leave it at that. Well, the end result was a tied-up frog and REALLY angry teen.

"Come on," she said, picking him up by his head. "There's a place for you to stay in Mom's car. Don't worry; you'll have some company, there."


	6. Chapter 6

I'm just going to skip Michael finding Kururu, because I don't really know a lot about it. So...here's Kai Azuay. I'm...sorry if I offended you, but I wanted to try to make the way they were found as cannon as possible (except Keroro and Giroro, which I had to change to keep the plot going.)

Dororo was walking in the freezing cold New England forests. But, being a ninja, he had taught himself to focus his energy on other things besides the weather. But...he felt something familiar. Very familiar. Something with sharp teeth clamped down on his leg, putting him in agony. He only had enough time to scream before he passed out.

Kai was working in her family's farm, feeding her chickens. She had a basket for gathering eggs for that day's breakfast, and was heading back to the chicken coop. But she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a man's scream coming from the forest. She gasped, and then called, "Zoe! Zoe, where are you?" She was referring to her pet husky, Zoë. The faithful pup ran up to her and jumped on her legs. "Come on, Zoe," Kai said. "We're going on a sled ride."

The puppy showed no hesitation to being tied to the dog-drawn sled. Kai snapped the reins and they were off.

When they got to the middle of the woods, Kai untied Zoë. Immediately Zoe scampered away, her nose glued to the snow. "What is it, girl? You smell something?" Kai asked.

She followed Zoe until she got to the limp form of a creature she'd never seen before, but was somehow familiar. "Oh. My. God," Kai gasped.

It was blue, with a three-pointed star on its stomach and hat, which was kind of like a veil.

It had on a gray face mask on, the same color as its hat.

Then she realized it had something clamped on its leg, which was starting to lose blood flow. It was an old-fashioned fox trap. She wondered why one was here. They were banned years ago.

"These darn traps," she growled. "I hate them." She grabbed the trap by both sides and pulled. After a few seconds of using all her strength, the trap separated.

She put the thing in her egg-collecting basket, on top of the blankets used to cushion the eggs, and tied Zoe back to the sled. The husky apparently seemed to know what was happening, because she ran slower and more smooth than usual.

When she got home, her mother spreading homemade (as in, straight from the cows) butter around a frying pan. "Kai, do you have the eggs I asked for?" she asked.

"No, Mama, but look what I _did_ find."

She looked in the basket, and gasped. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know. I found him in the woods."

"How do you know it's a 'he'?"

"I don't know. I just feel it. We'll know then it wakes up."

"You mean it's not dead?"

"No. I can feel him breathing. He got caught in one of those fox traps. After his wounds are tended to, he'll be fine."

"Ah. Then, go put him in your room. We'll discuss it after Papa gets home from the farmer's market in a few hours."

"Okay, Mama."


	7. Chapter 7

Keroro had spent the past 2 hours in the Hantas' car, looking for a way out. But then he saw Natalia carrying a familiar tied-up corporal by the head to the car. She simply unlocked the door and plopped the stunned red frog next to Keroro.

She said something in English, but Keroro knew she was saying something that Natsumi would say, and that was scary enough. Then she left.

"Well, Giroro, seems like you messed up pretty good, huh?" he asked sheepishly.

"Don't talk to me. Don't even look at me," Giroro said with the tone in his voice that said to Keroro, _Shut up; I hate you_

"Ahhh. I see," Keroro said.

Natalia was walking to the room she once was in. She wiped away the tears she had while carrying that red frog to the car. She remembered how she had been reduced to this.

Flashback

Natalia was lying on her bed, reading her favorite book, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, when her mom came in. "Natalia!" she exclaimed. "Your hair's a mess!"

She shrugged. She didn't really care about her hair. She just brushed it when it started to hurt.

"Natalia Hanta, sit up and let me comb your hair."

"Fine, fine, fine," Natalia said. She sat up, and her mother swished the brush through her long hair.

"Natalia," Ari said. "How tight have you been tying your hair ribbons?"

"Not very tight. I have to put them back on every few hours or so."

"Then how do you explain this?" Ari moved her hand from Natalia's hair, and her hand was covered in light, feathery strings. AKA, Natalia's hair.

A quick ice sickle of fear slid down her back, but she ignored it.

"Come on," her mother said. "We're taking you to Dr. Dixon. Maybe she knows what's wrong."

(Many tests and days later)

"Well, the tests have come back, and we've figured out she has something called alopecia areata," Dr. Dixon was telling Ari and Natalia.

"What? What's that? Is it serious?" Ari was asking hysterically.

Natalia personally thought alopecia areata didn't sound like an illness; it sounded more like a name of some sort, and a beautiful one at that. It sounded like something that sounded like a handmaiden of King Arthur, or something.

"It's not serious at all. It's basically an illness that causes hair to fall out. Unfortunately, your daughter has the most serious kind, areata. It mainly means that your daughter will lose all of her hair."

Natalia was speechless. She was 11! 11 year olds don't lose their hair for anything except cancer! "Anything else?" she found herself asking.

"Unfortunately, yes. You will also lose your eyebrows and your body hair." Then the doctor noticed the heartbroken look on her face, and added, "I'm sorry."

All of the way home after that, she was crying.

The first few months after that, she wore a Yankees cap to hide the bald spots. But, one day, her mother said, "Come on, Natalia. We're going to get you a wig."

And she picked a shoulder-length orange wig, because she had always wanted to know what she looked like with orange hair. After that, whoever she knew before didn't recognize her, and she had to lie to them and tell them that she dyed her hair. She spent every night, for 3 years, crying.

End of Flashback

Natalia noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely. She decided to just go and get a cup of punch. As soon as she got the cup, she couldn't drink it, though. It was too full of tears.


	8. Chapter 8

Tamama woke up in pure light. At first he thought he had died and that girl who picked him up was Death and now he was in Heaven. But then he realized he was under the covers of a Pekoponian-sized bed, with faint ribbons of sunlight going through an uncovered window. He looked as close as he could without changing his position, and saw that it was still snowing.

He heard the door unlock, and dove under the covers. Through the faint holes in the knit blanket, he saw the same girl who had saved him, but he saw her more clearly now. She looked extraordinarily like Momoka, only her hair was darker, and in a ponytail. He peeked his head up to see her better. She said something in English, but Tamama had overheard Momoka's English lessons with Paul enough times to know that she said, "Hello. How are you doing, Little One?"

Even though he could understand those few words, he couldn't speak a word of it, but he tried to show his manners and make an effort. "_Bakkin_," he said.

The girl smiled. She seemed to understand the word for 'Fine' perfectly.

"_Domo arigato_," he thanked her.

Michiko went into the creture's room, and she saw it was scared, as it dove under its blanket. After a few moments, she saw its head stick above the blanket. "Hello. How are you doing, Little One?" she asked.

It said something that sounded like 'Bakkin,' though she didn't understand. She assumed it was in its alien language.

"Domo arigato," it said. Her eyes widened. She only knew basic Japanese, like 'Konichiwa' and 'Sayonara' and stuff like that, but she KNEW that 'arigato' ment thank you.

She grabbed her laptop, and went to the translation site she usually went to for help with Spanish and French class. She sighed in relief when she saw that there was a button that said, "English to Japanese".

She typed her message:

**Hello. Who are you? My name is Michiko Nishiza. Where are you from? You're in New York, New York in America, if you didn't already know. I have so many questions to ask you, but I don't know where to start. Your name, perhaps?**

and it came out like this:

こんにちは。あなたは誰ですか？私の名前は美智子西です。どこから来たのですか？あなたが既に知っていない場合は、アメリカではニューヨーク、ニューヨークにいる。私はあなたを聞いて非常に多くの質問があるが、私はどこから始めればわからない。あなたの名前は、おそらく？

She showed the thing the message, and its eyes immediately lit up. It touched the last sentence, and said, "Tamama Neitohei."

Then it touched the second-to-last sentence, and giggled.

Then it pointed to the computer, and then pointed to itself. She smiled, and handed it to it.

The end result was this:

**I think we'll be great friends. What do you think, Mit-chi?**

She thought about it, then nodded a yes. _Hmmm...Mit-chi. Sounds like a pretty good nickname. I wonder what Freddie would think if he found out I have this thing._ She giggled. _I can't even imagine._


	9. Chapter 9

(Okay, from now on, I'm gonna write in first person, but if you want me to go back to writing in third person, please don't hesitate to ask.)

_Where am I? Am I dead? Why am I here?_

Those were 3 of the 3,000 questions running through my head.

I awoke to a room that looked like it belonged to a girl, God knows how old. I was in a bed with sheets that had flowers printed on it. I tried to get up, but my feet crumpled under me. I tried to get back on the bed, with no luck.

I heard the door open, and a girl's voice say something like, "Oa mie".

I felt arms wrap around me, and they lifted me and placed me back onto the bed.

Suddenly, I was looking into the eyes of a girl who looked amazingly like Koyuki-dono. She was wearing her long hair in pigtails that mimicked Natsumi-dono's, and she didn't have her catlike smile.

"Heloh." she said. "How ar yue dooing?" I didn't know what she was saying. She was speaking complete gibberish to me. "Watashi wa anata wo rikai shi te i mase n." I tried saying, but she stared at me when I tried to tell her "I don't understand you."

She pointed to herself and said "Kai Azuay. Kay Azuay."

Kai. What a pretty name. It reminds me of the sea, and her eyes proved it. They were the color of the sea...  
WHAT THE HECK? Dororo Heicho, why are you thinking this? But I can't help it...

I think I'm in love.

* * *

:D SQUEEEEEEEEE! I LOVE DOROKOYU SO MUCH I JUST HAD TO MAKE DOROKAI! Whoever has a certain pairing they want in this story, please send me a review or PM me. I WANT LOVE AND PAIRINGS SO MUCH!


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile, in Asia...

"Nee-chan, have you seen Gunso and the others?" Fuyuki asked.

"Not since last night," I said. "If they do anything weird, I'm gonna make them wish they'd never hatched!"

"Well, I'm sure Gunso isn't doing anything wrong, Nee-chan!"

"Don't count on it," I said.

"Um...Fuyuki-kun..." Momoka-chan said, not even bothering to knock to get in.

"Yes, Nishizawa-san?" Fuyuki asked.

"I...I brought you this. It's a very popular movie in America. It's called 'Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone'. I thought you might like it. There's stuff in it like centaurs, wizards, witches and trolls in it! I had it personally dubbed by the best voice actors in Japan for you..." she said, a blush trickling across her face.

"Wow! Thanks, Nishizawa-san! It'll be great!" he said, eyes shining with gratitude. God, are boys always thick?

"Um, Fuyuki, remember, the stupid frog?" I asked.

"Oh! Oh, of course. Nishizawa-san, I do appreciate this very much, but it isn't the time. Gunso and the others are missing!"

"Oh, how terrible!" Momoka-chan exclaimed, though when Fuyuki turned around, her hair became pointed, and her eyes became cold and menacing.

"Why does that boke garu always have to get between me and Fouyki-kun?" she whispered to herself. Honestly, that girl scares me sometimes!

Mois-chan came into the room. "What's wrong, everyone?"

I said to her, "The boke garu's missing, and we have no idea why."

"Oh, Ojisama said that he was going to America, and that they were going to see the United Nations. He said that they would be back in about a week."

"Grrrr! Come on, guys! Momoka-chan, do you have a good plane?"

"Of course! I'll get Paul." Momoka-chan said, and rushed out of the house.

Great! We're going to stop that stupid frog, and get a free trip to the States out of it, too! I must be the luckiest (or unluckiest) girl in the world!


	11. Chapter 11

(Kai's POV)

I put the blue frog-thing back into my bed. He looked at me weirdly, almost as if he were _fond_ of me.

I shrugged it off, and I went to the kitchen, where Mama had the eggs ready.  
I had gathered them while the frog was still out cold.

"Kai, sweetie, come help me serve breakfast."

"Yes, Mama." I went to the cabinet, and got four plates.

"Four? Kai, sweetie, I think you grabbed too many. All there is is your papa, you and me."

"It's for the frog. He has to eat, doesn't he?"

She smiled, and nodded. "I guess you're right. You are such a good Christian girl to take care of such a thing. I suppose others would send him to the government."

I nodded. "Well, he seems plenty kind. He tried to talk to me, he didn't try to fight me in any way, and he had this strange look in his eyes. I suppose it was admiration."

Mama smiled. "Well, that is a good Christian frog, as well, I suppose." (**A/N: no, I am NOT saying Dororo is Christian. I'm saying Dororo has the traits of a good Christian, so Mrs. Azuay is referring to him as such. If you've seen "The Blind Side" you'll know what I mean.)**

Suddenly, I heard the door open and Papa came out. "Hello, everybody!"

"Hello, Papa!" I said. I walked forward and hugged him.

"Hello, Kai. What'cha doing?" he asked in his heavy Hawaiian accent. He and Mama moved from Hawaii, and I technically am Hawaiian, too, as I was born there. It's hard to tell. They said they got my name because Kai means Sea in Hawaiian, and that was the first thing Mama saw after I was born. We moved shortly after. They didn't like the city life, so Papa bought a small farmhouse, and that was where I was raised.

"Getting breakfast ready. Sit down, it's almost done."

He smiled. "So, what's happening at home?"

I got a bottle of milk from the refrigerator, and I nearly dropped it when he asked this question.

"N-Nothing much..."

"Oh, come on, Kai," he joked. "Tell me."

Mama saw my desperate look in the eye, so she said, "Um, breakfast is served."

She placed the eggs on the table. She gave my dad two eggs with four yolks, they way he likes it, and she gave me two egg whites, sprinkled with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese, the way I like it.

I knew that Papa would not think that it's something at school that was bothering me, because I'm homeschooled. Have been, and will be till I go to college.

Papa looked at me, and said, "Kai, we need to talk about something." As he was saying it, he drummed the table with his fingertips. Uh oh. This was serious.

He turned to Mama, and said, "We think that it's time to start your education."

"What?" I asked. "I'm already getting an education! You teach me!"

Papa looked at me, and said, "Well, yes, but since you don't have any siblings, we think it's about time for you to talk to girls your age. You _are_ fourteen years old."

I looked up, stunned. They were sending me to school? As in NORMAL school? Well, I didn't really have a friend since I got a pen pal from England named Reeves Steward, but he stopped writing years ago.

"When do I start?" I asked.

They smiled, and Mama said, "Tomorrow. You can use some of your supplies here for tomorrow, and afterwards, I'll take you shopping in the city. Sound okay?"

I nodded, and smiled. "Who'll my teacher be?" I asked.

They smiled. "For homeroom, you'll be getting a very dignified young woman named Ms. Ida Bautista. You'll learn the other teacher's names later," Papa said.

I nodded. "Oh, Mama, Papa, how can I thank you? You're the best parents ever!"

Then I hugged them.

They smiled, and then Papa said, "Now, Kai, if you don't mind me changing the subject, what's it that you're hiding?"

"What?" I asked.  
"Your eyebrows. I know my little Kooky Kai more than she does herself, sometimes." He gave me a teasing smile.

I laughed. "Papa!" I groaned. "I'm not 4 anymore!" But then I saw his eyes, and I knew I couldn't hold back the secret that was pulsing in my guts.

"Come on up to my room, Papa. I'll show you." I smiled as I led him to my bedroom.


	12. Chapter 12

(Natalia's POV)

"THREE...TWO...ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone screamed as we watched the ball drop in Times Square. As it fell, I couldn't help praying for a new beginning.  
I actually thought of a good song to make that up.

_On days that you can't help fallin'_  
_Can't do nothin' but crawlin'_

_All you can do is just about die._  
_But when you feel like you can cry_  
_All you need is..._

_A new beginning_  
_A fresh beginning_

_A beginning filled with miracles_  
_With happiness and joy..._ **(A/N: Yes, I wrote this song myself. Sucks, right?)**

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone talking to me. "Hey, Natalia."  
I turned around, and I realized I was standing next to who else, but Michael Saber!  
"H-Hi, Michael!" I said.  
"How's school break working for you?"  
"Good! Just fine! no need for concern, no!"  
He laughed, and his silver hair looked SO sexy in the moonlight.  
"Well, you mind dancing?" he asked.  
I must've been red as a beet, because I could feel something coming from my nose. I only realized later it was blood.  
I grabbed one hand, and we twirled around. I was sure they were just playing songs from a stupid kid's iPod, but this song was especially supportive of a new year.

_It's not easy trying to understand _  
_How the world can be so cold, stealing the souls of man _  
_Cloudy skies rain down on all your dreams _  
_You wrestle with the fear and doubt _  
_Sometimes it's hard but you gotta believe _

_There's a better place, where our Father waits _  
_And every tear He'll wipe away _  
_The darkness will be gone,the weak shall be strong _  
_Hold on to your faith _

_There will come a day, there will come a day _  
_Wars are raging, lives are scattered _  
_Innocence is lost, and hopes are shattered _  
_The old are forgotten, the children are forsaken _  
_In this world we're living in _  
_Is there anything sacred? _

_There will come a day, there will come a day _  
_The song will ring out, down those golden streets _  
_The voices of earth with the angels will sing _  
_Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace _  
_In the glory of His amazing grace _  
_Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace _  
_In the glory of His amazing grace _  
_There will come a day, there will come a day _  
_Oooh there will come a day _  
_I know there's coming a day, coming a day._ **(A/N: I DID NOT write this. It's called There Will Come a Day by Faith Hill)**

Everything came to a halt when I saw a yellow streak dash from one side of the party room to another.


End file.
